Data is an important resource for individuals and companies. In recent years, due to the sheer volume of data that are usually generated, individual and/or companies are moving away from paper storage and are taking advantage of technology to save data electronically. Since data is now more portable, the need to protect the data from prying eyes has become a greater concern for many individuals and companies.
A common method for protecting data is to password-protect the data. In an example, a file may be protected by a password. To access the file, the user is required to provide the password. Passwords may have different level of complexity. Statistically, most passwords are simple passwords and may be readily guessed by an unauthorized user (e.g., hacker). Even if the passwords are more complex, an unauthorized user may employ brute force attack and/or a dictionary attack to crack the passwords.
Also, the number of passwords that a user may employ to protect his files may be limited to one or a select few. One reason why a user may limit the number of passwords that he may create may be due to his inability to remember a large number of passwords. Thus, once an unauthorized user has identified the set of passwords that a user may employ to protect his data files, the unauthorized user may easily access other data files that may be associated with the same user.
Further, many users are unlikely to change their passwords. In other words, once a user has created a set of passwords, the user is probably going to use the same set of passwords to protect his data files over a long period of time. Unfortunately, most users do not remember to change their passwords unless their passwords have been compromised.